Torn and Frayed
by dietcocacola101
Summary: A cheater named Naomi, an abuser named Jim, and a girl named Kelly were all involved in the events that resulted in Scorpius Malfoy attending 10 therapy sessions with Albus Potter to keep custody of his children. Albus is captivated as he learns about Scorpius's life, but unable to act because dating patients isn't allowed. What happens when the 10 sessions are up is anyone's guess
1. Chapter 1

**Torn and Frayed**

It all happened so fast. There was nothing that could have been done to stop it, yet Harry Potter felt responsible, nonetheless. There was no way he could have known what was going to happen, but he felt as if he should have known, anyway. He should have sensed it, had some inkling of the events that would unfold. He was the Head of the Auror Department, after all. If he couldn't be trusted to sense and stop attacks like this one, then who could?

Her name was Kelly. Kelly was the beautiful, sweet, and innocent little girl, who reminded him so much of his own daughter, who he had failed to save. She was three. Her father, Allen Thornbrook, a twisted bastard who shouldn't have had kids in the first place and who had suffered mental breakdowns before, flew off the hinges for good on March 3, 2041.

Now Harry knew better than anybody that there is evil in the world. He knew that sometimes bad things happened to good people and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He knew that he could not deny a wizard or witch their wand, even if cases like this made him wish he could. He could not ban a wizard his magic, even if that wizard chose to use it to kill his wife with the two words and the green light that accompanied them that Harry was so familiar with. Not even if that same wizard responded to his daughter's sobs and cries, "Why isn't Mummy waking up?" by killing her. A wand pointed to the back of Kelly's blonde head and "_Avada Kedavra!_" and she was gone.

Allen Thornbrook only acted this way because of his very serious mental illness, but Harry didn't care in the slightest. He hauled Allen's sorry ass to Azkaban without a twinge of sympathy. A case hadn't shaken Harry up like this in a long time. How many other unstable wizards and witches were out there, endangering everyone around them just by owning a wand? How many children were unsafe?

Harry Potter did not sleep that night. He kissed Ginny good night and spent the entire night in his office. He could not turn back time and save Kelly, he knew that. But instead of standing by and letting more murders like hers happen, he could do _something_ about it. When he first came up with the idea, it sounded insane. _He_ sounded insane. It felt like he was ordering interrogation on Muggle-borns and he was Dolores Umbridge. He almost gave up on the idea, decided that he would continue to do his job the best he could and that was all he could do. Then it hit him. He was sixty-one years old and was very near retirement. This could be his last chance to make a difference in the world.

He was positive that it would not be some kind of witch hunt. He would not be like Umbridge. It would be an interview, that's all. One interview. He would gather the names of all the witches and wizards with children under the age of seventeen in Britain and call them into the Ministry for a fifteen-minute interview about their home life, how their children are being raised, and what precautions are being taken to avoid a tragedy like Kelly Thornbrook's. Depending on how the interview went, a Ministry official would come around their house for a few months to check out how the kids were doing and how their parents were acting. If things looked good, the family would get a stamp of approval and would be left alone. If not, drastic measures would have to be taken. Harry really hoped it wouldn't come to that.

He knew that he would need Ron and Hermione's help if he was going to pull this off. Albus's, too. He pulled out a piece of parchment and began the letter with _Dear Ron and Hermione…_

* * *

"You're being called into the Ministry for questioning? What for?" Draco Malfoy demanded to know when his son showed him the letter he had received the previous morning.

"Some kind of Ministry Social Services, I think," Scorpius replied and when Draco still looked puzzled (his father hadn't taken Muggle Studies), he elaborated: "The Ministry wants to make sure all the witches and wizards in Britain are doing a good job at taking care of their kids. Every witch and wizard with a child under the age of seventeen got one of these." He held up the letter. "I read about it in the _Daily Prophet._"

"_What?_ You do a great job at taking care of your kids! Who would have the nerve to –?" Draco snatched the letter up and read the name at the top. He sneered. "Of course. _Of course_ it's Harry Potter. Who else, besides the Minister himself, could have that kind of power?"

"Oh, come on, Dad, it can't be all that bad. It's a fifteen minute interview that I have weeks to prepare for. Besides, he probably has good intentions, you know, after what happened to Kelly Thornbrook.

"Oh, right. I heard about that," Draco said, his voice softening. He was quiet for a moment and then said, somewhat angrily, "You let me know if that Harry Potter gives you an unfair trial!"

Scorpius chuckled, softly. "I will, Dad."

* * *

"Me too, Dad? Really?" Albus Severus asked, holding up an official Ministry letter addressed to _Mr. A. Potter_. He had kindly agreed to help his father with this new project, but hadn't expected to get a new letter himself.

"You have a child under seventeen, don't you? I couldn't _not_ give you one just because you're my son," Harry said with a toothy grin. He added, "Tell you what; I'll bump your interview to the top of the list so you can get it over with. I know you have a lot of work to do."

Wasn't that the truth! The not-so-small part Albus played in his father's project was that if a witch or wizard seemed unstable, they would be sent to him for ten to twenty sessions. Why? Albus's official job description was "Healer of the Mind" but he was, in simpler terms, a therapist.

The Ministry was giving away the sessions for those who needed it free of charge so Albus wasn't making a profit, but he was glad to do it as a favor to his dad. Besides, hearing about everyone else's problems made him forget about his.


	2. Chapter 2

Two Weeks Earlier

Albus Potter knew it would be a bad night the second he walked through the door of his apartment. Jimmy was sitting on the couch in his boxer shorts, violently turning the pages in a large book. Albus's stomach twisted in a knot, fully aware that if Jimmy was unhappy, everyone else would be unhappy as well. It took Al a few moments to realize something was missing.

"Where's Alyssa?" he asked. He put down his briefcase and took off his shoes at the door. Jimmy slammed the large book onto the coffee table and Al flinched at the sound.

"Hello to you, too, Al," Jimmy replied, irritably.

Al bit back a comeback and instead, politely said, "Hello, Jimmy."

Jimmy nodded in approval and scratched his balls before answering, "Your daughter has been sent to her room."

Of course. Whenever Alyssa was bad, she was _his_ daughter. Although, she was Al's daughter because his sperm had been used to create her, not Jimmy's, and her last name was Potter, not Broslin. That wasn't the point, though.

"Why?" Al asked and sat down next to his boyfriend. Merlin, he felt ridiculous. He was thirty-six years old and still had a "boyfriend". But Jimmy didn't believe in marriage, so the argument ended right there.

He sat down on the couch next to Jimmy, wearing Healer robes while Jimmy was dressed in a wife beater and his boxer shorts. Al wondered what had happened to Jimmy's pants, but decided not to bring it up.

"Alyssa spilled paint all over the carpet during one of her stupid art projects and when I asked her to apologize, she refused and mouthed off to me."

To anyone else, this might not seem like a big deal, but Albus knew better than anybody that Jimmy hated it when people got mouthy. He had plenty of bruises – some recent and others not – for proof.

"I can talk to her if you want," Al suggested, eager to hear Alyssa's side of the story, but Jimmy shook his head.

"No, get started on dinner. She can apologize to me if she wants dinner tonight."

Anger bubbled inside Al at the mention of Jimmy depriving his daughter food, but said nothing and hated himself for it. Al started to get up, but Jimmy grabbed his elbow and pulled him back down.

"Well, hold on. You don't have to start this very second. Sit with me for a while," Jimmy said and wrapped an arm around Al's waist, pulling Al close to him. He allowed himself to be enveloped in Jimmy's arms and his smell. Maybe he had been wrong about Jimmy being in a bad mood. Maybe he would have a good night after all.

"My day was okay, thanks for asking," Jimmy said and went into detail about his day. Albus made a mental note that Jimmy hadn't asked him about _his_ day, but tried not to be angry. He was tired of being angry at Jimmy all the time. He should really cut him some slack. He knew his partner loved him, even if he got a little carried away when he was drunk.

_And when he's angry. Not to mention frustrated, sad, stressed, irritated, dare I go on?_ The voice in his head whispered. _Merlin, when _isn't_ he beating the hell out of you?_

"I think I'll get started on dinner," he blurted out and, judging by the dirty look he received, had probably interrupted Jimmy mid-sentence.

"Fine, go. See if I care," Jimmy spat. Albus was glad to. It had been a long day at work and he was too tired to argue with Jimmy.

He had a craving for spaghetti so he got out the noodles and the sauce and waved his wand to get them to boil themselves. He suddenly felt exhausted and desperately wanted to go to bed, but Jimmy would want him to stay up with him. Al sat down at the kitchen table while his dinner was cooking itself and opened up the _Daily Prophet._ He hadn't gotten to read it this morning. He was aware of a pair of eyes watching him from the couch, but pretended not to notice.

"Don't bother. It's all rubbish," Jimmy said from the couch, but Albus opened up the newspaper and hid his face behind it. He selected an article and was starting to get immersed in it when Jimmy cleared his throat.

"What is it, Jimmy?" Al asked, never looking up from the _Daily Prophet._

"Don't ignore me, Albus. You know I hate that," Jimmy said.

"I'm not ignoring you."

"Don't give me that bullshit!" Jimmy snapped, his voice rising with every word.

Albus sighed and put down the newspaper to look at his partner. "Did you have a bad day, Jim?"

"What the fuck does that have to do with anything? And if you had listened to me earlier, you would _know_ that my day was shit instead of guessing. You never fucking listen to me, Albus!" Jimmy raged.

"Lower your voice, please. Alyssa is in the next room," Albus said, calmly.

"That's all you care about, isn't it?"

"Well, seeing as Alyssa is my daughter, it's only natural that she be a big part in my life and that I care a great deal about her."

"Don't be a smartass!" Jimmy was on his feet now, revealing his bare legs and reminding Al of his next question.

"Where are your pants?"

"What?"

"You're not wearing any pants. Why? Where are they?"

"Don't change the subject!" Jimmy cried, advancing towards him.

"I'm sorry. Really, I am. I don't want to fight," Albus said, raising his hand in surrender.

"It's a little late now, isn't it?" Jimmy growled.

"It doesn't have to be." Al touched Jimmy's arm. "Why don't I make dinner and get everybody fed and after Alyssa goes to bed, we'll talk about what's bothering you. All right?"

Jimmy agreed, just like Albus knew he would. After ten years of being with him, Al had gotten very good at talking Jimmy down from one of his rages. He saved his spaghetti just in time, too.

Alyssa was called from her room to eat dinner with her fathers and apologized to Jimmy. Al wasn't able to convince Jimmy to put on pants at the dinner table, but other than that, it had been a pretty good night.

"Do you need a napkin, sweetie?" Albus asked his daughter and Alyssa nodded without looking up from her food. His six-year-old daughter was slurping up spaghetti like there was no tomorrow and her face was covered in tomato sauce. Al thought it would be a good idea to point it out before Jimmy did. Last time Alyssa had eaten this vigorously, Jimmy had told her to stop eating like a pig and she cried all night. Al thought it would be wise to avoid another incident like that.

He summoned a napkin from the counter and wiped his daughter's face with it. She smiled at him and chirped, "Thank you, Daddy!" He stopped for a moment to admire her. Alyssa had his trademark green eyes and, in his opinion, she looked far better with them than he did. Her once pale skin was now tanned, due to the fact that she never spent any time inside, if she could help it. However, Alyssa's most noticeable feature was her hair. It was thick, dark, and there was a _lot_ of it. Al's father often compared her hair to his aunt Hermione's, but Al didn't think they were alike at all. Alyssa's hair was curly, not bushy. He was quite surprised when she sprouted brown curls instead of flat black locks, like his. She had probably inherited it from her surrogate mother.

Albus had made a promise to himself on November 5th, 2035, the day Alyssa was born, that he would never let anything or anyone hurt her. He promised that he would protect her from any threat – even if that threat existed inside her own home. This promise had been put to the test before and would be put the test again that night.

"Daddy, cab I habe dessurt?" Alyssa asked, her cheeks puffed out and filled with spaghetti.

"Yes, but –" Albus started, but Jimmy cut him off.

"Alyssa, how many times have I told you not to fucking chew with your mouth full?"

"Watch your mouth, Jimmy," Al said quietly.

"Don't tell me what to do, Albus! You're already on thin ice with me!" Jimmy snapped. His eyes smoldered and Al knew that he hadn't completely forgotten about their little spat earlier. He should have known – Jimmy had always been one to hold a grudge.

"She doesn't need to hear that kind of language. Well talk about it after dinner," Al suggested.

"So you're making the rules now?"

"I never said that!"

"That's what it sounded like."

"Look, Jimmy, I'm sorry you had a bad day, but that doesn't give you the right to act this way."

"You'd act this way too if you'd had to deal with the shit I'd been through today!"

Albus sighed and rubbed his temples. He had a headache and just wanted to have a nice dinner, but the chance of that happening had been shot to hell as soon as it had been clear that Jimmy wasn't going to drop the subject.

"Alyssa, go to your room. Your dad and I need to talk," Al said and Alyssa nodded. She started to get up from her seat when Jimmy pushed her back down.

"No, I think she can stay. She needs to learn about things that happen in the real world," Jimmy argued.

"She does not. She's six years old."

"I'm aware of how old she is."

Anger bubbled up in Albus's chest and for a moment he imagined hitting Jimmy, just to see the stupid look on his face and to give him a little taste of the hell that he had been through for ten years. He shook off the fantasy. He would never do it – he didn't have the balls.

"Go to your room, Aly," Al said, using his daughter's nickname while he disobeyed Jimmy at the same time. He saw the look in Jimmy's eyes as Alyssa stood up: he had declared war.

"Alyssa. Sit down," Jimmy demanded and clamped his hand around her arm. Alyssa whimpered.

"Let her go! She hasn't done anything wrong!" Albus cried.

Alyssa whimpered again and did something Albus never expected: she made a break for her bedroom, attempting to yank her arm out of Jimmy's grip. Jimmy was just as surprised as Al was and Alyssa almost got away, but he quickly recovered and yanked Alyssa back by her forearm. She cried out as she fell to the ground and Al thought he saw her arm bend at a funny angle.

"NO!" Albus bellowed. He was on top of Jimmy in a second, wands forgotten. Al grabbed Jimmy by his perfectly greased black hair and smashed his face into the hardwood floor.

Blood spouted from Jimmy's nose and he groaned. Albus would've liked to keep hitting him, but he knew what he had to do and he had to do it fast. Al snatched up his wand and his sobbing daughter and ran for the door. He waved his wand on the way out and their suitcases packed themselves and bumped the walls as they levitated behind them.

Al carried Alyssa to the parking lot of the townhouse complex where his car resided. It was pouring rain and Al was thankful for magic, if only because he could buckle his daughter into her car seat while his suitcases loaded themselves into the trunk. If it hadn't been for magic, he wouldn't have had time to inspect Alyssa's arm (thankfully just bruised, not broken) before Jimmy came barreling towards them.

Albus shut the car door and quickly got into the driver's seat. He started the vehicle and backed out of the parking space just as Jimmy crossed the parking lot. He put the car in drive and gunned it, leaving Jimmy screaming after them in the pouring rain.

"Daddy, I'm sorry," Alyssa sobbed. "I'm sorry I ran."

"No, I'm sorry. It was my fault. I shouldn't have put you in that position," he reassured her.

Albus shushed and comforted his daughter until she stopped crying while simultaneously focusing on keeping the car from sliding off the road. Rain splatted against the windows and created a soothing and rhythmic sound.

Once Alyssa's tear had dried, she noticed the unfamiliar roads and asked, "Where are we going, Daddy?"

In all honesty, he had no idea. He had meant to take Alyssa to his parents' house, but was driving in the opposite direction of where they lived. A subconscious part of him must have known that Grimmauld Place would be the first place Jimmy would look for them and steered them away.

"We're going on vacation," Al decided. "Just the two of us, okay? Does that sound like fun?"

"Yeah. But how long?"

"Only a few days. Long enough to get away for a little while."

Albus drove aimlessly for the next few hours and allowed Alyssa to play her One Direction CD over and over again until she fell asleep. He popped the CD out of the player as soon as he heard her snores and was now enjoying the peace and quiet.

Al checked the clock (2:14 AM) and sighed. He had no idea where he was and the rain hadn't let up in the slightest. He hoped to find a hotel soon or their first adventure would be sleeping in their car.

A half an hour or so later, Al spotted a gas station and was filling up his car when the first wave of homesickness hit him. He was vaguely aware that he was getting soaked standing out in the rain, but his mind was far away. He knew it was fucked up, but he missed Jimmy. Every part of him wanted to turn the car around and go back to him. There would be hell to pay when they got back and Al would most likely be getting beat up by Jimmy until one of them dropped dead, but at least his life would be comfortable and familiar again. At least he wouldn't be in the middle of nowhere, scared out of his mind.

When he went inside to pay, he bit back every urge and asked the cashier directions to the nearest hotel instead of how to get back. Al knew that he couldn't take Alyssa back to Jimmy and that was all that mattered. His daughter's safety and health were more important than his own selfish wishes.

He drove to the motel and fiercely bit his tongue every time he thought about Jimmy. By the time he checked in and carried Alyssa up to their room, his tongue was bleeding. He had had to carry their luggage himself as well because he was fairly certain that he was surrounded by Muggles.

"Alyssa, wake up," he instructed her after he laid her down on the bed. She moaned and buried her head under a mountain of pillows.

"I'm serious, Aly, get up. You need to put on your pajamas."

"Nooo!"

"Yes. Come on."

Albus reached into her yellow suitcase and pulled out a button-up pajama shirt with matching bottoms. They were light pink with a cupcake pattern. He laid the folded pajamas next to her and changed into a t-shirt and sweatpants. By the time he had finished, Alyssa's PJs hadn't been touched and he heard her snore.

Al reached across the bed and shook her awake. He was starting to get angry now. "I know you're tired, but that doesn't mean you can ignore me. Put your pajamas on right now. The sooner you do it, the sooner you can go back to sleep."

Alyssa sat up, grumbling, but didn't sass him. He suspected that she knew she had irritated him and wasn't going to push her luck. She quickly changed into her pajamas and Albus held up the covers while she crawled underneath them.

"Are you going to sleep next to me?" Alyssa asked, her voice laced with exhaustion.

"Of course. I'll be in the bed right over there," he said and gestured to the second king sized bed in the room.

"No, in this bed with me," she said and then begged, "Please? What if I have a nightmare?"

"All right, all right," he said and climbed into bed next to her. Now that he thought about it, he had no idea why he had even requested a room with two beds in it. He must have done it out of habit.

Alyssa snuggled up next to him and was asleep within seconds. He ran his fingers through her brown curls and as he did so, disgust in himself hit him like a truck. Memories played over and over again in his head, like some DVD on replay. Memories of Jimmy bellowing at Alyssa until she burst into tears, of coming home to Jimmy falling down drunk and Alyssa hiding in her closet, of finding bruises on Alyssa's body along with an eerie silence from her and an insistence from Jimmy that he had nothing to do with it that Albus just didn't believe.

Not to mention what had happened at the gas station. How could he have even considered going back to that arse? When he had decided he wanted a child, he took on the responsibility of keeping that child safe and had failed to do so for six years. He would not fail his daughter again. He would give her the life she deserves, even if it meant that he was alone for the rest of his life.

Insecurity blossomed in his brain and consumed every one of his thoughts. The question that had haunted him every time he considered leaving his abusive partner popped up once again: _What if no one else wants me?_ There it was. The reason that Albus had lived in, and let his daughter live in, unacceptable conditions. He had been so damn afraid that Jimmy was the only person who would love him, that he could never be good enough to date someone else.

Self-loathing, a familiar feeling, was beginning to creep back into his sense, but he pushed it away and allowed drowsiness to take over. He had meant what he said about Alyssa and himself being on vacation. Vacation meant that you forget all about your worries and escape from reality for a few days, which was exactly what he intended to do. He could go back to hating himself on Monday.

The next morning, a Saturday, came too early. Albus felt like he had just closed his eyes when Alyssa shook him awake and asked for breakfast. He was only half awake when he walked down to the buffet with her and almost ate his muffin with the wrapper still on it. After breakfast, she begged him to take her to the indoor pool and he only agreed to because they had a hot tub. He had always wanted to live someplace with a hot tub in the backyard. There was a large water slide that opened up to the shallow end of the pool and Alyssa must have gone down it a hundred times. Every time Albus waved at her from the hot tub and every time she unsuccessfully begged him to go down with her, but he never got tired of it. Seeing her so happy and carefree made him smile wider than he had in a long time. He made it his responsibility for her to be this happy and carefree for as long as he could manage.

Albus watched Alyssa in the pool for several hours and only dragged her out because it was well after noon and he was starving. Alyssa had always loved being in the water, even when she was a baby. Al's dad liked to joke around by calling her a fish or wondering when she was going to sprout a mermaid tail.

"Can we go back after lunch?" she asked him, tugging on his arm and giving him The Puppy Dog Eyes.

"No, kiddo, we have other stuff to do today. We'll come back tomorrow, though, I promise. Do you want to go out for lunch?"

"Sure. Where?"

Albus had no idea, but got in his car and drove until he found a diner. He and Alyssa ordered hamburgers and, while she was squirting barbecue sauce on her bun, Al decided it was a good time to bring up Jimmy.

"I want to talk to you about something," he said and Alyssa shot him a worried glance.

"Am I in trouble?"

"No. Why? Do you have a guilty conscience?"

She shook her head, furiously. "No, I was just wondering!"

"I want to talk to you about Dad," Albus said and took note of how uncomfortable she got at the mention of Jimmy. "Has he –? Do you –?" This was harder than he thought. "Your dad and I are going to separate."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"We're not going to be together any more. The two of us are going to date other people."

"Oh. Why?"

"Because we're not in love any more," he explained. "We haven't been for a long time."

"Because of me?"

"No, sweetie, of course not. You have nothing to do with what's going on between your dad and me. Has – has Dad ever hit you?"

Alyssa took her time answering his question. She carefully placed her bun on her burger and used her fries to swirl the ketchup on the plate into funny shapes before finally muttering, "Only when I'm bad."

Al's heart sank. All those years of foolishly hoping that she really did get her cuts and bruises from tripping or losing her balance were crushed now. She took a bite of her burger and he waited for her to swallow before he spoke again.

"Before I say anything else, I want to tell you something very important. You're still very young, so you may think that Dad hitting you is okay or even normal. It's not. No matter what you do or how bad you misbehave, it is never okay for him to use pain as a punishment. I'm sorry you had to learn that the hard way." Once Al had finished, his throat closed up and he had to blink back tears. He glanced at his daughter and she seemed to be doing the same. Finally, she said,

"Are we going back home after this vacation? I don't want to. Dad will be so mad at me."

"No, we're going to Grandma and Grandpa's. Your dad and I are separating, remember? You're going to stay with me until your dad and I go to court for custody issues."

"Custard issues?"

"No, custody issues," he corrected her, chuckling. "It means we're going to court to see who gets to see you and when. I'm going to do my best to make sure that you live with me all the time."

Alyssa beamed at him and Al asked her a few basic questions like, "How do you feel about Dad?" and "Has ever Dad ever touched you?" before letting her eat her lunch in peace. He picked at his food, but suddenly found that he wasn't at all hungry any more. Al paid for their food and he and Alyssa went sightseeing for the rest of the day. Then on Sunday night, after they got back from the pool where Alyssa had finally convinced him to go down the slide, he packed up all their things, checked out of the hotel, and drove into night to Grimmauld Place. They arrived around midnight.

Ginny threw open the door in her nightgown, looking frazzled. "Where have you _been?_" she cried and strongly reminded him of his Grandmum Weasley.

"Shh!" he hissed and nodded to Alyssa, who was snoring in his arms.

"_Where have you been?_" she whispered, not as loud but just as fierce.

"I'll explain in a minute. Can I come in?" he asked and Ginny nodded. He stepped inside, his luggage once again bumping into things behind him, and asked, "Where's Dad?"

"Right here. What happened?" Harry asked as he descended the stairs. "Jimmy was here on Friday, saying something about you and Alyssa taking off."

"I'll explain everything once I put Alyssa to bed."

And he did. As hard as it was, he explained the whole story. He felt his cheeks heat up during several parts and desperately wanted to crawl under a desk from shame during the entire story, but trudged on until he had finished.

"Oh no. _Jimmy?_ I can't believe it!" Ginny cried. She and Harry had always liked Jimmy.

"I knew there was something I never liked about that guy," Harry said, despite that he constantly called Jimmy "a fine young man" and told Lily that she should marry someone more like him. Albus couldn't really blame him, though. Jimmy was quite the charmer. That was how he sucked Al in in the first place.

"Are you and Alyssa all right?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, we're fine now. I just lost it when he grabbed her. I had to get her away from there," Al admitted.

"You did the right thing," Harry reassured him.

Albus's parents told him to go to bed and he gladly did so. As he slumbered in the soft guest room of his parents' house, Allen Thornbrook tucked his daughter, Kelly, into bed as well, not knowing that in a week and a half, he would kill her.

* * *

Scorpius Malfoy arrived home on that Friday afternoon about twenty minutes after Albus Potter did. Albus and his family had just sat down for dinner when Scorpius was taking his shoes off. Then he heard the cry that every father of small children loves to hear and every father of teenagers longs to hear again: "DADDY'S HOME!"

Scorpius's three children ran into his arms and he was bombarded by a bundle of blonde hair and excited squeals.

"Hey, kids. How was your day?" he asked and kisses Noah, 6, Heidi, 4, and Ricky, 2, all on the forehead.

Noah and Heidi rambled, excitedly, about their day at Muggle primary school and Ricky, who hadn't uttered a single word since he was born, silently outstretched his arms, a nonverbal command to be picked up.

"Hold on, everybody, I just got home. Can I sit down for a minute?"

"No!"

"Noah, don't be rude," a stern voice floated in from another room. His wife, Naomi, appeared in the doorway, her usually straight blonde hair was frazzled and the look in her eyes warned anyone and everyone close enough that she was not to be messed with. "Go was up for dinner, all of you."

"Yes, ma'am," Scorpius's older two said and all three of his kids departed to the bathroom.

"Hello, dear," Scorpius said, politely, and leaned in to kiss Naomi on the cheek, but she pushed him away. "What's the matter?"

"Dinner will be ready any minute. Get washed up," she ordered coolly, ignoring his question.

Scorpius almost said, "Yes, ma'am," as well, but instead, bit his lip and nodded. He didn't dare protest because Naomi was in one of her dangerous moods. He meant this literally. He had met Naomi twenty years ago (almost to the day) at a therapy session for teenagers with mental disorders. Hers was bipolar disorder.

He went to his room and changed out of his Ministry robes and into his jeans and a button-up shirt. Good mood or bad, Naomi's opinion of how one should be dressed at the dinner table hadn't changed: respectively, not like a bum. He shooed his Bernese mountain dog, Juno, off the edge of the bed and put his briefcase there. Then he went into the bathroom to comb his hair and wash his hands. Scorpius had done this exact routine in that exact order every day for as long as he could remember. For most people, the repetitiveness would drive them mad, but Scorpius found it soothing. His teenage therapist had suggested that doing calm, soothing things would help relax his nerves and keep his mental illness in check, so a daily routine it was.

Dinner was ready and on the table when he emerged from his bedroom. Naomi had prepared steak with mushrooms and mashed potatoes, Scorpius's favorite, and he wondered what the occasion was. It wasn't his birthday, or hers, and their 10th anniversary wasn't until next week. He voiced these thoughts and immediately wished he hadn't.

"I can't cook a nice dinner for my family without accusations? Well, that's certainly nice to know for future reference. Next time you want to take the kids out for ice cream or to the movies, I'll be sure to ask you, 'What's the occasion?'" Naomi snapped and whipped into the next room and out of sight. A moment later, he heard her holler up the stairs for the kids to get downstairs _now._

His children were getting older and would soon start to ask him why their mummy could be smiling and happy one minute and in a rage the next. Scorpius dreaded the day he was asked this because he did not have an answer. He could tell them that it was because their mother has bipolar disorder, but he just wasn't satisfied with that answer. Saying that was implying that her disorder had completely taken over Naomi's life and that she was a slave to her emotions, constantly being controlled by them. Scorpius did not believe this was the case. Naomi's mood swings weren't some inconvenience that had latched themselves onto her. Her bipolar disorder wasn't some nasty disease that had forced its way into their marriage. It was a part of her. Maybe it wasn't his favorite part of her. Over the years it had changed from "Naomi is having one of her unavoidable episodes and there's nothing I can do about it" to "Naomi is upset and what can I do to make her feel better". She had not let her mental illness define her. She had defined it.

Anyway, Scorpius would never insult his wife by writing off one of her bad moods as bipolar disorder. He would hate it if Noah or Heidi asked Naomi why Daddy doesn't like his co-workers or why Daddy doesn't have very many friends or why Daddy cries a lot and for her to answer, "Because he is mentally ill." Not "Daddy doesn't get along with his colleagues" or "Daddy is shy" or "Daddy is very open about his feelings", but "He is mentally ill." He would never forgive her if she explained his condition to their children that way and would not do it to her.

Noah, Heidi, and Ricky scampered down the stairs, looking very cute in their freshly ironed clothes. All five Malfoys sat around the dinner table and said Grace before digging in.

"How was school today, Noah? You seemed to be in a good mood this morning," Scorpius observed.

"Good! Miss Savore let me be the line leader again!" Noah announced, proudly.

"Noah fancies her!" Heidi blurted out.

"You bet I do! She's so pretty and nice. I love her."

Scorpius chuckled at his son's ramblings. "I know what that's like. Your first crush can be exciting."

"Who was your first crush, Daddy?" Heidi asked. Her eyes were on him and she hadn't touched her food.

"Eat your dinner, sweetie," he said and, when she ate a few mushrooms and a spoonful of mashed potatoes, answered her question, "My first crush was your mum. She's my only crush, actually."

He caught Naomi's eye from across the table and smiled at her. He expected her to smile back, but she looked down at her food without saying a word. Guilt was unmistakably etched upon her face. Scorpius assumed it was because she had been rude to him earlier and wrote it off as no big deal. The rest of dinner was practically forcing Heidi and Ricky to eat their dinners while serving Noah seconds and thirds.

"Finish your milk, Heidi, so you can grow up big and strong," Scorpius instructed his daughter as he was cleaning up everyone else's plates. She drained her glass and then asked,

"Can I have a cookie?"

"Not today. We only have dessert on Fridays, remember?"

"It is Friday!"

Scorpius halted in his process of getting all of the dishes in the dishwasher. Was it? The week had gone by remarkably fast. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"All right," he said and stepped out of the way of the cookie jar. Heidi snatched up a handful of chocolate chip cookies, her favorite, and hollered for her brothers to come get dessert. Noah and Ricky came thundering into the kitchen, talking loudly (well, Noah was) and stomping their feet.

"Boys, be quiet! Your mum has a headache," Scorpius warned. Naomi looked at him in amazement.

"How did you know I had a headache?"

"You had your headache face," he replied with a grin and went back to loading the dishwasher. When he finished, the kids had finished their dessert and disappeared to somewhere else in the house. Naomi appeared beside him and gently touched his forearm.

"I'm sorry for being so nasty earlier. I had plans to meet a friend today and they fell through. I was really looking forward to it so I was disappointed when it didn't happen," she explained. Scorpius smiled and pulled her close to him, happy that they were good again.

"It's all right. I understand. Who was your friend? Maybe we could invite her over for dinner."

"Just somebody from work, but that's not necessary. I can schedule another lunch."

Scorpius was privately happy that Naomi had declined his offer. Not that he didn't want to get to know her friends, but he wasn't sure if he could pretend to know what Naomi did for a living for an entire living. He knew that she worked from home and sold cosmetics or shoes or something like that, but could never remember what it was that she sold, only that she was successful and that packages of all sizes often appeared in their house.

"Why not go out tonight? I can watch the kids," he offered. Naomi pulled her head away from his chest to look up at him.

"Really? You would do that for me?"

"Of course. Go out and have fun. I'll stay here and watch _The Lion King_ for the hundredth time and play _Hungry, Hungry Hippogriffs_ for the hundredth time as well."

"Don't be silly. The kids have made you play _Hungry, Hungry Hippogriffs_ at least a thousand times," Naomi teased and they both laughed.

Naomi hurried up to their bedroom to get dressed and owl her friend that she was coming over. Scorpius informed his children that their mum was going out and they were having a movie night.

"Can we watch _The Lion King_?" Noah and Heidi asked at the same time.

"Anything you want. Get the movie from the game room and I'll make popcorn when your mum leaves," he said and his two kids scampered down the hallway. Ricky toddled behind them, letting out a soft whine that Scorpius assumed meant that he wanted them to wait for him.

The movie was in the player, waiting to be started, and the kids had already taken their choice of candy. They were sitting on the choice, yelling for Scorpius to make the popcorn already so they could get started. He yelled back that Mum hadn't left yet and went up to check on her. He knocked on the door and called,

"Are you almost ready, darling?"

"Yes! I'll be out in a minute!" she cried, her voice laced with excitement. He was happy for her. Naomi had hardly been able to have a day to herself since Noah was born.

Scorpius waited in the foyer for a few more minutes and was about to go back upstairs to check on her again when Naomi descended from the stairs, looking very pretty in a skirt and fancy blouse. She had put her blonde locks up in a bun and her make-up was perfect, as usual.

"You look great. Have you got a date?" he teased and she laughed, nervously.

"No, nothing like that. I'll see you later tonight. Goodbye," she said and he kissed her on the cheek again before she left. He had never noticed how much he kissed her on the cheek or forehead, or just hugged her until someone else had pointed it out to him. It had always been such a habit to him. They were tactics to avoid kissing her on the lips, an action that Scorpius had always found unsettling.

Scorpius had met Naomi when he was sixteen and the two had been together ever since. He loved her, but not in the way that she wanted him to. He was not in love with her and had never been, not even when they were teenagers. He had dated her because she was nice to him and made him feel good when he was down. She had been through some of the same situations as he had and they had lots in common; they could relate to each other in a way no one else could understand. Scorpius married her because he trusted and cared about her, because she was his best friend, but most importantly because she was safe and familiar.

At first it was unclear why Scorpius could never love Naomi the way Scorpius's dad loves his stepmom or the way his brother-in-law loves his stepsister. Loving a woman didn't seem to be in Scorpius's control panel. Sometimes he felt like he had been programmed wrong or had malfunctioned somewhere along the way. Then, a few years ago, just before Heidi was born, another man flirted with him at a bar and Scorpius came to term with his sexuality. It was like all of the pieces of the puzzle were coming together: why he had never been in love with Naomi, why girls were never particularly interesting to him, why he had always found the same sex more intriguing…

Yet, here he was, four years later, still married to her. In all honesty, he had been terrified when he finally admitted to himself that he was gay. This was new. This was scary. It was not familiar. It had always been Scorpius and Naomi, Naomi and Scorpius and he didn't want to ruin the bond they shared. He didn't want to make his wife cry or drive her to hate him. He didn't want to sign divorce papers and move into a new flat and only see his kids on the weekends. So he stayed. He was married to his best friend in the world and she would be by his side forever, and he had three beautiful kids who meant the world to him. Being gay didn't matter.

Scorpius watched the movie and made his special popcorn and then all three of his kids tried to squirm their way into his lap. Candy was spilled and some pieces rolled under the couch, never to be seen again. His daughter recited every song by heart and sang with passion. Scorpius convinced his munchkins to play a new board game instead of their old favorite and made them all hot chocolate. By the time the game was over and their mugs empty, Ricky was curled up in his lap and sound asleep, and the other two not far behind.

"Let's go up to bed," Scorpius said and followed his two sluggish kids up the stairs, cradling the other one in his arms. He put Ricky to bed and kissed his forehead, and tucked in Noah and Heidi, complete with good night kisses and bedtime stories.

"Good night, Noah."

"G'nite, Daddy."

"Good night, princess."

"Night night, Daddy!"

"Good night, Ricky," Scorpius said, having forgotten for a moment that his youngest was fast asleep.

The house suddenly felt very small and alone. Scorpius considered going to bed, but found that he wasn't tired all of a sudden. He wished that Naomi would come home, or that he had someone else to talk to. The quietness of the house unnerved him and when Scorpius went up to his bedroom to read, he put on a Savage Snitches record. Surprisingly, the Snitches did not live up to their name and a soft thrum of a guitar was heard as a man sang soft lyrics in a low voice. Naomi hated them and would rip on him endlessly if she ever found the record, but they were Scorpius's guilty pleasure.

Scorpius picked up his book from the night table, some kind of murder mystery, and began to read after fluffing up his pillow and settling in under the covers. He found that when he read, he entered an entirely different world and time ceased to exist there. The soothing music of The Savage Snitches eased his nerves and he got lost in his book. By the time he heard the clunking of Naomi's high heels coming up the stairs, he had almost finished his book and his record had gone on repeat twice. Scorpius hid the record just as Naomi threw open the bedroom door.

"Scorpius! What are you still doing up?" Naomi cried, exasperated and slightly annoyed.

"I was reading and the time got away from me. How was your night?" he asked. Naomi wrung her hands and looked distraught.

"I need to talk to you, Scor."

He could hear the seriousness in her voice. She seemed to be really torn about something and Scorpius was worried about her.

"What is it?"

"Sit down on the bed with me, please."

Scorpius would have refused and demanded that she tell him the news right then, but something told him that this was news that he would not be able to take standing up, so he obliged. Naomi sat down next to him on the bed and took both of his hands in her lap. He noticed that her hair and make-up were wild and smudged and she smelled of cologne.

"What happened to you tonight? Where did you and your friend go to make you smell like that?" Scorpius questioned.

Naomi sighed and played with her wedding ring. She avoided looking at Scorpius. "Things have been strange between us for a long time. I think you've sensed it as well. I don't think things are going to work out between us."

"What do you mean?" Scorpius asked, even though he was well aware what he meant. He wasn't in love with her, but he didn't want to lose her. He could feel himself start to panic and he gripped her hands very tightly with his own.

"I want a divorce."

Scorpius felt like the ground was coming out room underneath him and all the air had been sucked out of the room. Naomi was the only person he had ever kissed or made love to or been completely honest with. He may have married her for all the wrong reasons, but he wanted her to stay now so desperately it hurt.

"We can work things out. We'll communicate more and do more things together and we'll be good again."

"No, we won't, Scorpius," she said quietly.

"Yes, we will!"

Naomi shook her head. "I'm sorry."

Scorpius was starting to get angry now. Here he was, trying to save their marriage and she wasn't even making an effort. It was like she had already given up on them.

"Why are you bringing this up now, at one in the morning? Why not pick a better time to break this to me?" Scorpius asked and began to piece things together. "It was your friend, wasn't it? She talked you into this! She's been filling your head with lies!"

"No, no, Scor, you don't understand," Naomi said, shaking her head fiercely, but Scorpius was already on his feet.

"Who is this 'friend'? It's Nancy, isn't it? Oh, I knew she didn't like me, I _knew_ it!"

"_No_, Scor, it wasn't Nancy. And Nancy does like you, I swear it!" Naomi sighed and looked down at her hands. She was still fiddling with her wedding ring. "I misled you tonight, Scorpius, and I'm sorry."

"What are you talking about?"

"I did meet a friend tonight, but I don't know this friend from work and I led you to believe that my friend was a girl."

Scorpius stopped pacing around the room to process this. He found that he was right in assuming that this was not news to be taken standing up. He collapsed onto the bed and put his head in his hands. Naomi gently rubbed his back and said nothing. He was glad for this. He didn't think he could stand it if she whimpered and told him how sorry she was.

He lifted his head up from his hands and asked, "What is his name?"

"Carl Witwicke."

"How long – how long have you and he been…?" He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence, so she did it for him.

"How long have we been involved?" Involved. That was such a Naomi way to put it.

"Yes."

"Three years."

"Y-years?" he choked out. He had been expecting months. Weeks, if he had been lucky. But he was not lucky, never had been. He should have expected this.

"Yes, Scor. I'm sorry you had to find out like this. I never intended for the affair to go on for this long. I really didn't."

There it was. The pleading. The apology. The tears should come soon. Scorpius cleared his throat and blinked back his tears. He didn't want Naomi to see him weak like this. He used to be able to break down in her arms, but now that she had betrayed him, he wouldn't shed a single tear in her presence.

"Is there anything else I should know?" he asked dully.

"Carl is Ricky's real father."

"You're lying."

"I'm not, Scorpius."

"Yes, you are. You just want to hurt me."

Naomi brushed Scorpius's bangs out of his face and kissed his cheek. "You know I'm telling you the truth, Scorpius."

And he did. He just didn't want to believe it. Ricky, his Ricky, belonged to somebody else. His shy, baby boy, who cried when he went to work in the morning and clung to his legs when he walked into another room, wasn't his.

"Why are you telling me this?" Scorpius asked and, when Naomi didn't answer right away, said, "I'm tired of trying to figure out everything for myself, Naomi. Just tell me."

"I was with Carl tonight. We've been together a long time and he divorced his wife to be with me. He said it was my turn," she explained.

Scorpius knew he should try to reason with her. He knew that he should threaten to kick this Carl guy's ass. But he could see on Naomi's face that she wasn't being forced to ask for a divorce – she chose to ask for one. She wanted it.

"Do you love him?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to be with him, instead of me?"

"Yes."

"Go, then. Be with him. But you can't have the kids." He wasn't that nice.

"Okay."

Wait, what? Scorpius was confused. He had expected her to fight for them, to start the second Wizarding War with him over custody of the children, but she just bowed her head and agreed to his terms. Once again, he had to connect the dots and figure it out himself.

"You don't want them."

"They'll be better off with you. Happier, safer."

"How can you know that?"

"I just know. You're a great father, Scorpius," she said and stroked his cheek, her eyes filled to the brim with tears. "I'm so sorry things had to end like this. I thought a family was what I wanted out of life, but I was wrong. I love the kids and I love you, but I hate my life. I hate being some stupid housewife. I want – no, need – something more. Carl can give me that. I love him. I love you, too, Scor, I have for a long time, but we're at the end of our run. We had twenty long years together. That's enough for me."

"And Ricky?" he inquired, ignoring her attempts at consoling him. His wife was leaving him for someone else and nothing she could say would make him feel any less suicidal. All he was concerned about were his youngest son and what would become of him. Scorpius realized then that he had still referred to Ricky as his son. It didn't matter that he wasn't the man who had helped create Ricky. He was the one who had raised him and would continue to raise him. _He_ was Ricky's father. "He's not going with you."

"No, of course not. He loves you so much. He would want to stay here with you."

"Carl doesn't know that Ricky is his…does he?"

"Right again. You're good at this."

"I suppose all there is left to do is for you to pack your things and say goodbye to the kids. Leave me your address and I'll owl you the divorce papers," Scorpius said, getting up from the bed and away from her.

"All right. Goodbye, Scor."

Naomi flicked her wand and all of her things began to pack themselves while she supervised. Scorpius had his back to her and was trying to keep a handle on himself, even after the emotional roller coaster he had just been through.

Suddenly, he felt angry. He was tired of feeling sad and worthless and small. He didn't have to be so nice to Naomi. She had broken his heart. She was leaving him. He had every right to be angry at her. Before she left, he wanted to say something to hurt her, like she had hurt him tonight.

"I'm gay."

Scorpius didn't need to see her turn around to face him, he heard it. He heard the clunk of her heels and the swish of her dress.

"You're gay?"

"Yep."

"How long have you…?"

"A long time."

Naomi didn't say anything else. He heard her zip up her suitcases and watched her carry them down the stairs, and then come back up to slip into her children's bedrooms. He regretted telling her. He thought it would make him feel better, but it hadn't. He hated that she was the first person to know his darkest secret. Under other circumstances, he would have made sure she was the first to know. Gay or not, it had always been him and Naomi against the world. Now she was tackling the world with another man.

Heidi's sobs cut into his thoughts. He exited his bedroom and saw his daughter tugging at Naomi's dress, her face streaked with tears. Noah and Ricky were standing in the doorway of Noah's room, crying quietly and Ricky was hugging a teddy bear to his chest.

"Heidi, please stop. Mummy has to go," Naomi said, trying to force her dress out of her daughter's chubby fists.

"Don't go!" Heidi cried.

"Let me go, Heidi! You're being childish!" Naomi snapped. Scorpius stepped forward and pried Heidi's hands from Naomi's dress and turned to glare at his soon-to-be ex-wife.

"Of course she's being childish; she's a child," he said coolly. He got on his knees and turned to his daughter. "Don't cry, baby. It's all for the best."

"Are you going, too, Daddy?" she whimpered, the tears glistening on her face.

"No, I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here with you and your brothers. I'll never leave you."

Still sobbing, Heidi flung herself into Scorpius's arms. He cradled her against his chest and beckoned for his boys to join the hug. Once again, he was bombarded by blonde-haired children, only they were crying this time. As Scorpius hugged his three kids close to him, he noticed that Naomi was still standing there, watching them.

"You should go," he said. Not in an 'I'll miss you' way or even a 'Good riddance' way, but in a 'Look at the pain you've caused way'. After he said it, he found that he couldn't stand to look at her any more and forced his eyes away.

"Yes, that's a good idea. Goodbye," Naomi said. She walked down the stairs and out the door, right out of his life. He hadn't noticed her pick up her bags, but when he glanced down at where Naomi had set them down, they were gone.

His kids were still sniffling and quivering in his arms. He forced himself to his feet, nearly staggering under their combined weight. He carried them to his bedroom and all four Malfoys collapsed on the bed.

"We're all going to sleep in here tonight, okay?" he said.

"I'm not tired," Noah whimpered and Scorpius stroked his hair.

"You will be soon. You're a growing boy and you need your rest. I will explain everything to you in the morning, I promise."

Scorpius got into bed, his kids clinging to him like a life preserver, their faces still wet. He drew the covers up around the four of them and whispered, "Go to sleep. Everything will be okay when you wake up."

He knew this was a lie and that things would not be okay in their family for a long time, but he found comfort in saying it. He had to tell them something, didn't he? He couldn't believe that just a few hours ago, the five of them were gathered around the dinner table, conversing and laughing like a normal family. Where had those happy people gone?

Scorpius was thinking about his wife and despite the horrible things she had done, was missing her. Little did he know, at that moment Albus Potter was forcing his daughter into her cupcake pajamas and missing his partner as well.

Three years. He couldn't believe it. Scorpius stroked Ricky's cheek and compared his son to the other two. Now that he thought about it, there was a slight difference in their appearance. The blonde hair and pale skin was the same, but Noah and Heidi had inherited his thin face and pointy chin. Ricky had not. Ricky's face was chubby and round and his eyes were a startling blue, not grey.

He kissed all three of them good night and held and shushed them until they finally fell asleep. He did not stop thinking about Naomi until he fell asleep himself.


	3. Chapter 3

Present Day

Albus found that his father was true to his word in saying that he would get his interview bumped to the front. He had complained about the letter and, sure enough, his interview was the next day. Normally, Albus would never ask for special treatment just because he was Harry Potter's son, but in the one situation where he _wanted_ to be an exception, his father would not budge. It wasn't that he didn't want to go to the interview; it was that he simply didn't have time.

In the two short weeks that he and Alyssa had lived (temporarily) at Grimmauld Place, he had been very busy. Unlike his brother, James, Al did not intend to overextend his stay at his parents' home. He had gotten right to business and in the last fourteen days: worked, convinced his mum to pick up where he had left off in Alyssa's studies, hired a Defensive Wizard (in other words, a lawyer), searched for a new apartment, and filed a restraining order against Jimmy after several incidents that happened over the course of those fourteen days.

Al was supposed to be touring a two-bedroom flat, meeting with his Defensive Wizard, _and_ holding an afternoon group session (he worked half days on Friday) that day, but was forced to cancel all of the above in order to go to his father's interview.

"Stop being so dramatic. The interview will take fifteen minutes. Just push the tour of the flat to another day and you'll still make it to work and the meeting," Ginny said after he complained about it for the hundredth time. She was pouring Alyssa her cereal and gave him a dangerous look when he asked her to pour him coffee. It was one of her famous looks, one he had been getting often: the "you're old enough to do it yourself so don't look at me" look.

"I'm not being dramatic. It's screwing up my whole day."

"It is not. Between you and your sister, it's no wonder everyone thinks this family is full of drama queens."

"I'm not a drama queen!" Albus cried, exasperated, but Ginny swished by him without a word and Alyssa giggled into her cereal.

"You think that's funny, huh?" he teased her and she giggled again.

"Yeah, I do."

"Where do you think you get it from? You're no better than I am, missy!"

"Yeah, yeah. Just go to your interview, drama queen!"

Alyssa giggled and ran to get a banana from the cupboard. She escaped his sight just before he was going to comment on her sass. He checked his watch and saw that it was (yikes!) 8:45. His interview was at nine. Al called goodbye to his mother and kissed Alyssa on the forehead before departing from Grimmauld Place. With magic at his assistance, he arrived at his interview just in the nick of time.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, there you are," a very properly dressed woman said in a dignified voice. "Please take a seat."

Albus recognized the room as the court room held for Muggle-born interrogations all those years ago. He noticed that the chains on the chair were gone and he and the woman were the only two in the room.

"Mr. Potter? Please take your seat. I'm on a very tight schedule," the woman said.

"Er, sorry," he said and hastened to take a seat in the large chair.

"It's quite all right. Let's get started, shall we?"

"Sure."

"Your name is Albus Severus Potter, 36 years old, sorted into Gryffindor house, father of Alyssa Marie Potter. Is all of that correct?" the woman questioned.

"Yes."

"It says here," she held up a few documents, "that you have recently split from, and filed a restraining order against, your partner, James Broslin. Is _that_ correct?"

"Yes," Albus answered. This woman was starting to annoy him.

"Could you explain to me what happened?"

"You know what happened," Al snapped and gestured to the documents that the woman was still holding up. "It says right there."

"I want to hear it from you," the woman said. She put down the documents and smoothed them out neatly. When Albus didn't say anything, she asked, "How long were you and James involved?"

"Ten years."

"That's quite a long time. Why did you decide to leave him after so long?" the woman asked innocently. Al knew she wasn't innocent, though. He knew she wanted to get a rise out of him. She wanted him to say it.

"You know why."

"Please cooperate, Mr. Potter."

"He abused me," Albus spat. "He beat me up and emotionally manipulated me and forced me into – into having sex with him even after I'd told him no."

The woman nodded approvingly and continued with the interrogation: "It says here that you want James to not come within 500 feet of you or Alyssa. Why did you include Alyssa in the restraining order?"

"Jimmy is dangerous. I don't want him anywhere near Alyssa," Al said.

"How is Jimmy a threat to her?" the woman asked. "Was she a victim of Jimmy's abuse as well? Did he beat her? Did he emotionally manipulate her? Did he force her into sexual activi –?"

"_No!_" Albus nearly screamed.

"'No'? As in, she was a victim of none of the above?" she asked calmly.

"Jimmy hit her sometimes. Not often, but enough for her to be afraid of him. He bullied her and put her down all the time. But," Albus could feel himself shaking, "he never had sex with her. Never."

"How do you know?"

"I WOULD KNOW!" he bellowed and jumped to his feet. "I WOULD LOOK AT HER AND I WOULD KNOW!"

"Mr. Potter, calm down and take your seat."

Albus sat back down and licked his lips nervously. If he continued acting this way, he could easily lose custody of Alyssa, regardless of who his father was.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I lost my temper. I just – do you have children, Mrs…?"

"Mrs. Price, and no," the woman said. Al realized this could only be Nancy Price, the co-worker that his aunt Hermione always complained about.

"Well, as a parent, I can't talk about my daughter being raped, not even in theory. I hope you understand where I'm coming from, even if you don't have children of your own."

Mrs. Price just nodded and moved on to the next question: "Where are you and Alyssa currently living?"

"With my parents. I'm looking for a new flat, though, because I want Alyssa to have a safe place that she can call home."

"Have you started dating again?" Mrs. Price inquired.

"No, I, uh, I'm not quite ready for that yet."

"When you are ready, how will you handle introducing your daughter to your new partner?"

"What does that have to do with anything? Isn't this interview about whether or not Alyssa is safe in my care?" Albus asked.

"Yes, Mr. Potter, you're right. My apologies. I was simply wondering if Alyssa will be able to accept a new man in her life after being traumatized by Jimmy," Mrs. Price explained.

"You think Alyssa has been traumatized?" Al asked breathlessly.

"It's very likely, especially at such a young age. She may have a hard time accepting the men that you choose to date."

"Then I'll let her know that I won't be with anybody that she isn't okay with. I'll let her know that she is the most important thing in my life and that I won't let anybody hurt her again," Albus said firmly.

Mrs. Price started to speak again, but Al cut her off. "I'll let her know that she can talk to me about Jimmy or about anything and I will always put her first."

"I'm afraid our fifteen minutes are up, Mr. Potter. Alyssa seems to be in no danger from you, but, especially after your little outburst, I am going to send a Ministry official to your new flat from time to time to inspect how Alyssa is being cared for, just in case." Mrs. Price smiled thinly. "One can never be too careful. I hope you understand."

Albus nodded, so full of rage that he didn't dare speak, for fear that he would say something he would regret.

"Very good, Mr. Potter, thank you for cooperating. Please send the Ministry the address of your new flat, once you've moved in."

"All right."

Albus got up and left the room, forcing himself not to turn back and strangle Mrs. Price. It really wasn't fair for him to be angry at her. She was just doing her job. _He_ was the one who had blown his top and started shouting. He was the one who had blown his interview. He swore under his breath and sent the next person into the courtroom.

Al grabbed some brunch (he had only had coffee that morning) and sought out his Defensive Wizard's office. He was early for their meeting, but he decided it wouldn't be that big of a deal. On the walk over there, Al was starting to think that he _was_ a drama queen.

Al's Defensive Wizard's name was Victor Emerson. He was very tall and big and reminded Al of Dracula, although Al would never have the nerve to tell him this. Al trusted the man with his paperwork and his hearing, but was still intimidated of him. When Al arrived, Victor was meeting with another client and told Al to wait outside. He didn't mind. He was in no rush. Al's mind was wandering, thinking about how many other things he had left to do today and about how strange it would be seeing Jimmy in court for the first time after he had showed up several times at Grimmauld Place to terrorize him and his family. It was not a pleasant thought and Al kept his mind off it by noticing things around the office.

A timid voice distracted him from counting the tiles on the ceiling and he looked to the direction of the voice just in time to see a head of platinum blonde hair disappear into a cubicle across the hall with a woman traipsing behind him. Al's first thought was that they were lovers, but reminded himself that this was a workplace and it was far more likely that the woman was the blonde's client, the same as he was Victor's. Al leaned his head against the wall and listened to the blonde man's voice. He felt like he heard it from somewhere, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. The best word to describe the man's voice was awkward. It was obvious that the man had authority over the woman, but was not used to being in this position and didn't quite know what to do with it. Albus was about to get up and read the name on the cubicle when the door to the cubicle behind him opened up and Victor and his clients exited.

"I will take care of that right away," Victor called after them and then turned to Al, "Come on in."

Albus glanced one last time in the blonde man's direction and followed Victor inside. He sat down on a flimsy chair and Victor sat down across from him on the other side of the desk, on a large swivel chair. Albus felt out of place – at his job, he was the one on the other side of the desk. Victor laid out the paper work for the restraining order and explained every bit of what would happen in court, from what his chances were at gaining full custody of Alyssa (very high) to what to say to win over the Wizengamot.

"Now remember," Victor said, "it may seem like there isn't a chance in hell you can lose this hearing, but Jimmy has his own Defensive Wizard, I'm sure, who is telling him exactly what I'm telling you. I'm going to assume that you have nothing to hide, so just tell the Wizengamot the truth and play to their emotions. They're weak – just tell them a sob story and they'll be on your side in a flash. Got it?"

"No. Do I tell the Wizengamot the truth or a sob story? You lost me there," Al confessed.

"Both!" Victor cried, flustered. "Your entire relationship with Jimmy is one big sob story! Am I wrong?"

"No," Albus admitted. Victor was not wrong, even if he _had_ just offended Al a little. He wasn't sure how much he liked Victor, but it didn't matter. He would only have to deal with him a little while longer, until he gained full custody of his daughter.

He and Victor went over a few more things and Al was just about to leave when he remembered something he wanted to ask Victor about. "Hold on. Do you know who works in that cubicle just across the hall?" He gestured to the cubicle containing the blonde man with the awkward voice.

Victor snorted. "Scorpius? What the hell are you asking about him for? Biggest fucking freak I've ever seen."

"Why do you say that?" Albus should have left it alone, but curiosity had sparked in him after hearing the man's name. He could only be Scorpius Malfoy (after seeing that shade of blonde hair, Al had no idea how he didn't figure out he was a Malfoy sooner), the boy he had gone to school with for seven years. Scorpius had quickly gone from a 'Death Eater's son' to 'the boy who tried to commit suicide' after only a few years at Hogwarts. He and Albus hadn't been friends, or even spoken to each other at school. Albus had wanted to reach out to him, but was too afraid of what others would say if they saw him hanging out with Malfoy. He regretted it now.

"He's mental. He takes all these pills because he's screwed in the head. He can barely get in front of the Wizengamot without having a breakdown. Merlin only knows how he even _got_ a job at the Ministry," Victor explained, holding the door open for Albus. He added, "The guys and I rag on him all the time."

"That's not nice," Albus said quietly.

"What was that? My hearing's not as good as it used to be," Victor said.

"That's not nice," Al spoke up, "You shouldn't tease him."

Victor looked at him like he was speaking another language and Albus let himself out. He felt angry again, angrier than he had been at Mrs. Price. He had seen how the kids at school had given Scorpius a hard time. It wasn't fair that bullies had followed Scorpius into adulthood, too. Albus wasn't really surprised, though. He, of all people, knew that often times adults are bigger bullies than children are.

He checked his watch and was pleased to find out that he had plenty of time before his group session that afternoon. Enough time, in fact, to go home and take Alyssa to the park or something. Albus Apparated to Grimmauld Place and was sticking his key in the lock when he realized that James's car was here, and Lily's. His parents had never mentioned that his siblings would be coming over. Had he missed something?

Albus let himself into the house and found his parents and siblings gathered around the kitchen table. They were discussing something over lunch. Al hung back in the shadows and it only took a few minutes of listening to discover that it was him they were discussing.

"– that Jimmy guy comes around here one more time and I'll kick his ass," James threatened.

Al's brother was tall with a strong build and the only thing he used his head for was to grow hair. Despite James being about as smart as a box of rocks, he had a good heart and a lot of nerve. James was a true Gryffindor, in Al's opinion, and was far more courageous than he would ever be. James was also quite the womanizer and was currently on his fifth marriage. The other members of the family teased him endlessly about it, but Al, who had never been able to tie the knot with anyone, had always been jealous. At the wedding to James's fifth and current wife, Anne Marie, James had joked with Al by saying, "You can't fall in love and I can't stop." Albus was beginning to fear the amount of truth James's joke held.

Lily, Al's younger sister, spoke next, saying something about how scary it must have been for him and Alyssa and how great it was that they got away while they could. Lily had inherited her mother's beauty, which meant boys had been chasing after her since she was fourteen, but Lily also had very high standards. She had always wanted a family and a house with a picket fence, but had failed time and time again to find a man worthy of sharing that with her. Lily had just barely been on the other side of thirty when she met that man, John Pike. That meant that Alyssa had been Harry and Ginny's first and only grandchild, until Lily gave birth to her first son, Colin, named after Colin Creevey. Harry and Ginny had been urging her to get pregnant again, because Jimmy had insisted on only one child and James did not want any, so Lily was their only hope if they wanted more grandbabies. Albus loved Alyssa more than life itself, but, once again, he found himself jealous of a sibling. He had always wanted a son.

"I can't believe Al let things go on for that long. I thought he knew better than that," his brother said and Al flinched at the words.

"It's not always that simple, James," Harry argued.

"Harry's right. We have no idea what Al went through, so we have no right to judge him. We shouldn't be judging him, anyway! We're his family!" Ginny cried. "I read somewhere that an abuse victim leaves their abuser an average of seven times before they leave for good. Al is lucky it only took him one time."

"We don't know that. He could go back to Jimmy at any time."

"I won't," Albus spoke up and stepped forward. Lily shrieked in surprise and dropped her tea.

"Albus! How long have you been there?" she cried while Ginny scolded him for eavesdropping. Harry and James didn't say anything. Instead, they stared at their feet and looked guilty.

"I'm not going back to Jimmy. Not now and not ever. I don't appreciate you all getting together and talking about me behind my back. If you want to have a family meeting about me, at least have the decency to invite _me_," Albus said angrily. It was his turn to scold.

Lily and Ginny began to stammer excuses, but Al turned his back on all four of them and ascended the stairs in search of his daughter. He found Alyssa sprawled out on the floor with a coloring book and crayons littering the ground around her. Her face lit up when she saw him walk through the door and she hurled herself into his arms.

"Daddy!"

"Hey, sweetie. Do you want to go to the park?" he asked.

"_Yes!_" she squealed and wriggled out of his arms to collect her coat and shoes. Albus shut the door behind her, using this opportunity to change out of the stuffy suit he wore for his interview. He stripped down to his boxers and was about to pull on a t-shirt and a pair of jeans when a sad voice said, "Oh, Albus…"

He yelped and covered himself up the best he could. "Merlin, Mum! _Knock_ next time, please!"

Normally, Ginny would have scolded him and asked, "What, the woman who changed your diapers and wrestled you into the bathtub every day isn't allowed to see your body any more?" This time she hugged her hands to her chest and looked at him with the saddest eyes. He quickly pulled on his jeans and shirt, but she had already seen the bruises, cuts, and marks that covered his body.

When Ginny finally found her voice she said, "I came up to apologize about earlier. None of us meant to hurt your feelings." Albus nodded appreciatively. Ginny stepped forward and pulled him into a hug before he could reply. Al was taller than her now, but felt himself shrink into his mother's hug. He could only imagine how hard it was for her to find out that her baby had been hurting for so long.

Alyssa came thundering up the stairs, and Ginny and Al broke apart just as she ran into the room. "I'm ready to go!" she cried and spotted Ginny. "Is Grandma coming to the park with us?"

"If you want me to," Ginny replied with a smile.

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Alyssa practically tugged Al and Ginny out the door, but only after they said goodbye to everyone and Al accepted their apologies. He was still a bit stung, but did not want to hold a grudge. He did not want to be like Jimmy.

"Albus, wait!" a voice from behind called. Al had decided against taking his car because the park was only a block or so away and he, Ginny, and Alyssa were only a few houses down from Grimmauld Place when he heard the voice. All three turned back to see Harry hurrying to catch up.

"Did you decide to come after all?" Ginny teased him, but Harry shook his head.

"No, I almost forgot to give Al this," he said and handed Al several pieces of parchment.

"What's this?"

"The names of all the people who will be coming to you for therapy this week," Harry explained.

"Merlin's beard! You can't be serious, Dad!" Al cried. "I thought you said you had a ton of other Mind Healers on this job, too!"

"I do! They all have the same amount as you, Al, probably more because I didn't want to stress you out with everything that's going on with you."

"Do you know how much overtime I will have to work?" Al was baffled. He rifled through the sheets of paper. Each had about twenty names on it along with a number, which could only mean the amount of sessions they would be attending.

"Quit complaining," Ginny defended her husband. "You told your dad that you would do this job for him and you are going to do it without complaints. Do you understand?"

Al wanted to remind her of all the things he still had to attend to, like finding a new flat and going to court, but the look in her eyes told him that the only thing she wanted to hear was, "I understand," so that was what he told her.

"Ooh, Daddy, you got in trouble," Alyssa teased, giggling. Al squeezed her hand and said,

"I still wish I was getting paid."

Harry shot him a guilty smile and said, "I know, but I couldn't exactly force people to pay for therapy they don't want. At least this way they will be more likely to show up."

Al raised an eyebrow at him. "You mean some people won't show up?"

"You probably won't see half of the people on that list," Harry said and gestured to the parchment Al was holding. "But don't worry, if they skip their mandatory therapy sessions, they'll be called back into the Ministry for inspection."

"You see? You won't be nearly as busy as you thought," Ginny said and Al grumbled to himself. He hated it when she was right. He looked through the list of names and one familiar name caught his eye:

_Scorpius Malfoy – 10_

* * *

Scorpius had received a notice from the Ministry a mere two days after his original letter informing him that his interview had been moved up to the next day. He wanted to pretend like he didn't know why, but after Allen Thornbrook, it was no surprise that Harry Potter would want all parents with mental illnesses interviewed first. Draco had, once again, when outraged when Scorpius told him this and was halfway to grabbing a quill and parchment to complain to Harry Potter himself when Scor stopped him.

"Dad, please, I don't want any trouble. I'm really not worried about the interview at all," he lied.

It had been two weeks since Naomi had left him and being a single parent turned out to be just as difficult as he had suspected. It was simple at first. He would feed his kids breakfast and make Noah's and Heidi's school lunches in the morning, drop Noah off at the elementary school, Heidi off at preschool, and Ricky off at day care on his way to work. Day care only lasted half a day so Scorpius would pick Ricky up on his lunch break and the two would go out to lunch together. He had arranged for Ricky to spend afternoons with his Grandpa Draco and Grandma Sarah, Scorpius's stepmother, and would drop him off there before heading back to work. He got off at three and would pick up his other two kids and swing by his parents' house to pick up Ricky, and all four would go home and have dinner.

Then Scorpius realized how successful Naomi's business had been, and how difficult keeping his large house would be without her income. He could have sold the house and bought a smaller one, but would only do that as a last resort. He was in love with that house and wanted his kids to grow up there and call it home. So, he got a second job. He now spent his evenings writing out advertisements and sending them out to people by owl. His hand had cramped by the end of his first shift and he hated it nearly as much as he hated his day job, but he thought of how much his kids needed him and powered through it.

Scorpius also had to make time for Noah's parent-teacher conferences, Heidi's eye doctor appointments, and Ricky's potty training. It had been barely two weeks since Naomi had walked out on him and he already felt like he was drowning from responsibilities.

He had been excused from work to go to the interview and by the time it was his turn, he was afraid he was going to pass out from nervousness. How could he possibly convince a Ministry official that he was capable of taking care of his kids when he wasn't so sure himself?

"Sit down, Scorpius."

Scorpius obeyed the woman's orders and sat on a large chair in the middle of the room. When he got himself settled in, he looked up at the woman and saw – Hermione Granger. He let out a small sigh of relief. He had heard many great things about Hermione. She would give him a fair trial.

"I'm going to rattle off a list of things and I want you to tell me if any of the following is false. All right?" she asked. She seemed annoyed, like she would rather be doing the interview _her_ way, instead of following some procedure.

"Okay," Scorpius agreed.

"Your name is Scorpius Malfoy, 36 years old, sorted into Slytherin house, and father of Noah Edward Malfoy, Heidi Lynn Malfoy, and Richard David Malfoy. Is all of that true?"

"Yes," Scorpius answered. He wasn't sure whether or not he should mention that he wasn't Ricky's real father, but decided in the end not to bring it up. He already had several strikes against him and didn't want to add another.

"You and your wife, Naomi Callahan, recently filed for divorce and Naomi granted you full custody of the kids. Is that true?"

"Yes."

"If you don't mind my asking, what was the reason for the divorce?" Hermione inquired.

"She was cheating on me," Scorpius admitted miserably.

"I'm sorry." Hermione looked sympathetic and she seemed to regret asking him.

"Thank you."

"Scorpius, are you aware of what happened with Allen Thornbrook and his daughter, Kelly? His case was the reason for these interviews in the first place," Hermione informed him.

"Y-yes, I'm aware," he stammered. They were reaching the part of the interview he had been dreading the most. "I know what you're going to ask me, but I'm not like him. My kids are my life. I would _never_ hurt them."

Hermione nodded. "I understand how you feel, but I have to continue with some questions about your…lifestyle. It's procedure."

Scorpius nodded and stared at his hands, which were folded in his lap. He had finally taken off his wedding ring last week and his left hand felt naked without it.

"Are you taking medication for your illness?"

"Yes."

"Do you take that medication with alcohol?"

Scorpius's head jerked up and his eyes met Hermione's. He wondered if she was accusing him of being an alcoholic or just being curious. He reminded himself that he was being paranoid again and shook off all his negative thoughts.

"No," he answered finally. "I don't drink alcohol."

"Ever? Not even at social situations?" Hermione questioned.

"No, I-I don't find myself in many social situations," Scorpius admitted, blushing. "Good things never happen alcohol is involved. I'm aware that if I was not in the right state of mind, I could very easily be a danger to my children. None of them are over the age of ten and would not be able to defend themselves if an adult wanted to attack them, even if that adult was me. I don't drink or do drugs for that reason, and I keep a close watch on my kids at all times. I don't even let them listen to music or talk loudly while we're in the car because I don't want any distractions while I'm driving."

Hermione checked her watch. It had only been five minutes, but she had already heard everything she needed to hear Mr. Malfoy.

"That's very responsible of you, Scorpius. You seem you take parenthood very seriously and I admire that. However, it seems like you have a lot of issues and insecurities you have to deal with if you're so paranoid that you will snap and hurt your children. I am going to require you to attend, hmm, let's say ten sessions of therapy and a Ministry official will pop in every once in a while to see how things are going with you and your family. All right?"

Scorpius nodded. He didn't know whether he should feel relieved or nervous. He hadn't attended therapy in over a decade.

"How will I know –?"

"The Ministry will send you an owl telling you who your Healer of the Mind will be, when you should meet, and where their office is," Hermione explained and then said, "I get that question a lot."

"A-all right."

"I'm glad you could make it today, Scorpius. You can go back to work now."

"Thank you," he said and left the room. In all honesty, Scorpius did not want to go back to work. He did not want to go back to a place where he was tormented by his co-workers every day. He had recently thought about quitting (he had only become a Defensive Wizard because Naomi wanted him to), but had decided against it. He hated his job, but it brought in quite a few Galleons and he literally could not afford to quit at the moment.

Scorpius quickly walked back to the Defensive Wizard department of the Ministry and found one of his clients, Violet Bradbury, waiting for him.

"_There_ you are, Scorpius! I've been waiting around here for nearly half an hour! Where the hell have you been?" Violet demanded. She folded her arms over her chest and tapped a high heel against the floor. She was primped and polished, very high class and beautiful, like his Naomi had been. She was also demanding and liked to be in control of things, also like his Naomi.

Scorpius was a little bit intimidated by her, but would never let Violet or his co-workers know this. It was a sign of weakness, and the people in his profession pounced at the slightest sign of weakness. This was probably the reason they had been terrorizing him for years.

"Hello, Violet. I was being interviewed by the Ministry," Scorpius said and led Violet to his cubicle. She began yammering about the good of the Ministry and what a great thing it was that Harry Potter was doing for the world. Scorpius let Violet walk into the cubicle first, the gentlemanly thing to do, and followed her. He was unaware that Albus Potter's eyes were on him from across the hall. He disappeared into his cubicle and sat across from Violet in his swivel chair.

"We need to talk about Jeffrey. He brought my kids home forty-five minutes after he was supposed to, on a _school night._ He's causing nothing but problems for me and my new husband…" Violet kept rambling about her ex-husband, but Scorpius wasn't really listening. He had heard Violet complain about Jeffrey every week for months now. He, too, wished Jeffrey would cooperate with the terms set by their divorce so he wouldn't have to see Violet nearly as much.

Scorpius suffered through the rest of the day, plastering on a fake smile for his clients and ignoring his co-worker's mocking words. At the end of the day, when he carefully reached over Victor Emerson to grab his coat, Victor grabbed his wrist and inspected his left hand.

"Where's the ring?" Victor grunted. "Did Naomi finally leave your ass?"

Scorpius tried to free his hand from Victor's grip, but had no luck. He gritted his teeth and hissed, "Yes."

"Does that mean that fine piece of ass is up for grabs?" Victor inquired, grinning maliciously. Scorpius had seen how the other men at the office had looked at Naomi when she arrived unexpectedly to take him out to lunch or bring by one of the kids. He had wanted to hit every one of them and this time was no different.

"No. She's with someone else now." Scorpius hated that Victor knew something that he had only chosen to tell his parents and Olive, but he knew from experience that his gorilla of a co-worker wouldn't let him leave until he had gotten what he wanted. In this case, it was information.

Victor laughed cruelly. "Ouch! That's gotta hurt!" He let go of Scorpius's wrist and Scorpius quickly grabbed his coat before darting out the door. Victor easily could've gotten Scorpius to spill everything about his and Naomi's falling apart, but the look of humiliation on Scorpius's face had been enough for him.

Scorpius was seething on his way to pick Noah and Heidi up from their respected school. He did his best to put out the flames, however, because he didn't want to be angry when he picked up his kids.

"Hello, sweetie, how was your day?" Scorpius asked his daughter after he buckled her into her car seat and got back behind the wheel. He started the car up again and made his way out of the preschool parking lot to pick up Noah. He noticed that Heidi hadn't responded and stole a look at her in the rearview mirror. "Sweetie?"

"Bad," she said sourly.

Scorpius had been informed last week by her eye doctor that Heidi needed glasses and the only pair he could afford was large and round. Heidi insisted that her classmates were teasing her mercilessly and had been in tears every day this week when he picked her up. Sadly, he had been reminded of how young bullying could start.

"I'm sorry. Were the other kids teasing you about your glasses again?"

"I hate them!" Heidi raged and pounded her fists against the seat, the window, anything that she could reach. "I hate them, I hate them, _I hate them!_"

Scorpius wasn't sure if she meant the glasses or her classmates, but he didn't ask. Instead, he said, "Lower your voice, Heidi. You know you're not supposed to shout while Daddy is driving."

Heidi sniffled and Scorpius didn't have to look back to know that she was crying again. She whimpered, "I'm sorry. Don't be mad."

"I'm not mad, honey. I know you've had a bad week. I've had a bad week, too."

"How?"

"Never mind. Let's focus on getting your brothers picked up and then I'll drop all three of you off at Grandpa and Grandma's. I'm sure they'll let you have treats before dinner, and play with lots of toy. Won't that be fun?" he asked as he pulled into the elementary school parking lot and waved at Noah as he spotted them from the front lawn.

"Yeah. Are you going to stay this time?" Heidi asked.

"No, I have to work."

"I wish you didn't work so much, Daddy. I miss you."

Scorpius's eyes stung with tears and he swallowed the lump in his throat. "I miss you too, baby."

"Whew, it's hot outside!" Noah cried, slamming the car door shut behind him and throwing his bag onto the floor of the car.

Scorpius brushed his eyes with the back of his hand and smiled at Noah. "Do you need help with your car seat, bud?"

"No, thanks," Noah replied and struggled to buckle himself into the car seat. When he finally succeeded, Scorpius started the car and headed to his parents' house.

Scorpius's parents had gotten divorced in his first year at Hogwarts and his father began to see a woman named Sarah a year later. Sarah was funny and cool, and was always kind and understanding whenever Scorpius had a problem or was having one of his "episodes" as his mum had liked to call them. Sarah's daughter, Olive, was a Ravenclaw in his year and was practically Sarah in miniature. She had the same chestnut hair and sense of humor as her mother, and, like her mum, was always there for Scorpius and would stand up for him in a heartbeat. Olive had dumped many of her boyfriends as a teenager because they either teased Scorpius or couldn't get along with him. Besides Naomi, Olive was the best friend he had ever had and they were still very close. She had been the first one he told about Naomi leaving and the only person he had admitted to that he was gay.

Scorpius had explained to his kids, of course, that their daddy would be showing an interest in men instead of women, and because of this there would be a change in lifestyle, but to accept it with an open mind. To correct himself, Olive was the first adult he had admitted to that he was gay. He was sure that Olive had slipped the news to her mum, but Scorpius was still working up the nerve to tell his father.

The drive to his parents' seemed much shorter than usual, maybe it was because he had been so eager to see Ricky toddling down the driveway toward him with a huge smile on his face. He squeezed his youngest son close, hugging him as if he hadn't seen him in years, when it had actually only been a few hours. Noah and Heidi leapt from the car and raced up the path to the front door, where their grandparents were waiting. Draco and Sarah had been sorry to hear about Naomi departing, but were happy to help out with his kids. Sarah often told him how quiet the house had been since Felix, the only son that she and Draco had together (born in Scorpius's fourth year), had graduated from Hogwarts. Felix was twenty-two now and lived with his girlfriend a few miles from Scorpius's house, but never came to visit.

Ricky giggled and clutched the front of Scorpius's shirt for dear life as Scorpius rocked him and kissed his temple on the way up the driveway. Noah and Heidi had disappeared into the house and Sarah with them, probably to fill their bellies with cookies and cupcakes and whatever other snack she had cooked up for them that day. Draco stood in the doorway, fondly watching his son and grandson. Scorpius set Ricky down and shooed him away to join his siblings in the kitchen. Ricky scurried away, and Scor and his father were alone.

"Thanks for taking care of the kids while I'm at work," Scorpius said again. Draco nodded.

"Of course. Do you have to leave so soon? Stay awhile and have a drink with me."

"I can't," Scorpius declined, shaking his head. "I don't want to be late. And I don't drink, remember?"

"Ah, that's right. I always forget." Draco was looking at him curiously and seemed to be working up the nerve to say something important. "Do – do you like your job, Scor?"

"Which one?"

"The new one."

"Not particularly, no. I don't like either of my jobs, but I'll do what I have to, you know?" Scorpius said. Draco still seemed troubled.

"You could quit both of them. You and the kids are welcome to stay here, for as long as you like," Draco offered.

"I don't want to be a burden."

"You don't have to stay for a long time. Just until you get back on your feet. Just until you find a job you enjoy."

It was Scorpius's turn to look at Draco curiously. "What do you mean, Dad?"

"It's just…you were always so unhappy as a kid. Then Naomi and the kids came along and things got better for you. Now Naomi is gone and I think it would be best for you to quit that awful job and do something you like."

"Dad…"

"I've seen how those assholes at your office treat you," Draco snapped and Scorpius flinched away from him. Upon seeing this, Draco's tone softened. "If you're going to work all day, Scor, it should at least be somewhere you like. You shouldn't have to spend all day, every day at a place that makes you unhappy. You deserve better than that, Scor."

Scorpius blinked back tears and found he was unable to speak because that nasty lump in his throat was back. He knew his father was right, but just couldn't bring himself to quit and lose his house and car and whatever else.

"So, this new job," Draco continued, casually changing the subject. "Does it have any perks? Have you met any new people?" Draco knew that friends were a rarity for Scorpius. "Have you, er, met any guys?"

Scorpius gaped at him. "What?"

"Oh, don't look so shocked. You know that Sarah has always been awful at keeping secrets."

Scorpius blushed and looked away from his father, guilt written all over his face. "I-I kept meaning to tell you. I was just trying to find the right time…"

Draco shrugged. "Well, now you don't have to worry about it. Besides, it's better this way. I wasn't as, er, accepting of it when I first found out as I am now. But your stepmom knocked some sense into me, like she always does, and now…I'm okay with it, Scor. As long as you're happy, I'm happy."

"Thanks, Dad," Scorpius muttered, blushing more fiercely than ever.

"I, uh, I'll let you go now," Draco said uncomfortably and Scorpius nodded in agreement.

"I'll come by later to pick up the kids."

"Think about what I said before about quitting," Draco called after him as he walked down the driveway, towards his car.

"I will," Scorpius yelled back. And he would. He would think about his father's words long and hard, longer and harder than he had ever thought about anything. Scorpius came to a decision later that night. He had a box of his things from his evening job in the backseat and swung by his house to pick up the mail and the dog before heading back to Sarah and his dad's and informing his kids that they would be staying the night. They would be staying a lot of nights there.

Scorpius's hands trembled with fear, but also with excitement as he thought about quitting the next morning. He was sad that he would have to sell his house, but tried to see the silver lining. Maybe the next house he bought would have a pool in the backyard. He had always wanted a pool in his backyard, but Naomi had been very clear about her demands: he could either have a pool or a puppy. As Juno wagged her tail and barked at him from the passenger seat, he knew he had made the right decision.

Scorpius rifled through the mail and found that most of it was junk mail and was not worth coming back to the house to retrieve. Only one letter was of interest to him and it was from the Ministry, giving him instructions on who to see for therapy and where and when. Scorpius let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding when he saw the name _Albus S. Potter_ on the parchment, remembering the famous and very handsome boy from school, the one with the pretty green eyes. Scorpius tucked the letter into his coat pocket and drove off.


End file.
